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STEUBENVILLE, Ohio -- Facing newfound scrutiny as a frontrunner in the Republican presidential race, Rick Santorum today fired back at national media who he says have given undue attention to comments he made this weekend questioning the president's theology. He also defended comments about World War Two that some saw as linking Hitler and President Obama.
On Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, Santorum told a Tea Party crowd, "It's not about you. It's not about you. It's not about your quality of life. It's not about your job. It's about some phony ideal, some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible, a different theology, but no less a theology."
But in front of a crowd of more than 500 people here on Monday, he said the comments were not meant to question the president's religious beliefs, rather a critique of what he called the "extreme" environmental regulations of the Obama administration.
"I referred to it the other day,” he said, “and I got criticized by some of our less than erudite members of the national press corps.”
When pressed by reporters after Saturday's comments, the former Pennsylvania senator maintained he did not mean to suggest that the president is not a Christian. But he did say the president is trumping religious freedoms.
"You may want to call it a theology; you may want to call it secular values,” Santorum said. “Whatever you want to call it, it’s a different moral values. And the president of the United States is exercising his values and trumping the values of the church.”
Today, Santorum did not use the word "theology," instead attacking the president's "ideology."
He was also asked about comments made last night in Georgia that compared America now to Europe during World War Two.
“I’m sure some of you have ancestors who were part of the Greatest Generation,” Santorum said last night. “Why were they the Greatest Generation -- because they were better than we were? Smarter? More courageous? They were they greatest generation, because when their country needed them, at a time of great peril, they met the challenge. Your country needs you. It’s not as clear a challenge. Obviously, World War Two was pretty obvious. But at some point, they knew. Remember, the greatest generation for a year and a half, sat on the sidelines while Europe was under darkness.
“While our closest ally Britain was being bombed and leveled, while Japan was spreading its cancer all throughout Southeast Asia … America sat in 1940 when France fell, December of 1941…Because we’re a hopeful people. We think, well, you know it’ll get better. Yeah, he’s a nice guy. I mean, it won’t be near as bad as what we think. This will be okay. I mean, yeah, maybe he’s not the best guy after a while, after a while you find out some things about this guy over in Europe who’s not so good of a guy after all. You know what … we’ll just take care of our own problems. We’ll just get our families off to work and our kids off to school and we’ll be okay. So with the optimistic spirit of America, sometimes, sometimes it’s not okay. It’ll be harder for this generation to figure it out. There’s no cataclysmic event.”
Santorum defended the comments today. "It’s a World War Two metaphor,” Santorum said. “It's one I've used 100 times."
In response to whether he meant to compare the president to Hitler, Santorum said, "No, of course not."
Those comments were not the only ones from the weekend that the former Pennsylvania senator found himself explaining. In front of the Ohio Christian Alliance, he said the 2010 health-care bill signed by the president encourages aborting children with disabilities by requiring prenatal testing that can detect if a child will not be born healthy. It is an assertion he did not back down from.
"I was criticized for making the comment about prenatal testing when it came to amniocentesis,” he said. “Amniocenteses are done by and large later in pregnancy whether the child in the womb has a disability.” And he claimed, “[A]s we all know, 90 percent of Down Syndrome children in this country are aborted once the mother and father find out that that child is going to be less than what they wanted it to be.”
The candidate, now surging in the polls, has focused almost all his attention on the White House and not so much as mentioning chief rival Mitt Romney. Stumping in Rust Belt states like Michigan and Ohio, Santorum has focused his message on manufacturing and environmental issues like hydrofracking and the Keystone pipeline. Both are issues in which Santorum argues the president has ceded to environmentalists, costing the country jobs.
Just 40 miles outside his hometown of Pittsburgh today, Santorum played up his blue-collar roots growing up as the grandson of a coal miner.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we need someone who understands, who comes from the coal fields, who comes from the steel mills, who understands what average working people in America need to be able to provide for themselves and their families,” he said.
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Does Santorum KNOW that the Roman Catholic Bible is NOT THE REAL BIBLE according to protestants, containing known phoney chapters called the "Apocrypha" which were discarded as not canonical because they have major errors in them?
Does Frothy really want to get into a debate with a protestant about who has the REAL BIBLE in America?
The Liann, The Church of England/Episcopal Church in USA use the "Apocrypha" as well.
There IS no real Bible. It was always a collection of writings chosen by committee. The committees just changed over the years.
Don't they always blame the media? Sound like Santorum has foot in mouth disease.
Rick Santorum, the President and CEO of the Christian Taliban. He is ready to run all over you.
Sam Tore' um sounds like a porno star, not a president ! Or the excuse the Itallian cruise liner captain had, Sand Tear em.
I think you mean Tea a ban !
another trick from rick the republican strategy say something false and the either walk it back, blame the media or say "not intended as a factual statement"
Just think, if he gets enough delegates they will have to let him speak at the convention. Nice way to turn off independents.
"Santorum defends ‘theology’ remark, Hitler inference; blames media"
The headlines on First Read are 99.9% slanted and incendiary against Republicans.
Rick Santorum was not defending a "Hitler inference", since there wasnt one; Santorum never compared Hitler and Obama, he was talking about WW2; this supposed Hitler infererence was purely a liberal media creation!
Neither did he 'blame' the media. Blame assumes he said something wrong, and was deflecting responsibility. Santorum criticized the media for assuming he meant to attack Obama's personal religious beliefs.
Most First Read articles seem little different in slant than the absurd "Environmental Defense Fund" ads saying "Thank you President Obama for saving children from poison"
Bob, Santorum is the poison the children, and everyone else, need to be saved from. Santorum and all the other anti-science self-righteous Bible thumping throwbacks to the Dark Ages.
Really? During his speech, he was talking about Hitler, about how we in the US thought he was a nice guy, but should have known better. If this was not a slanted comparison to our president, what was the point of this strange retelling of WWII history? I know it wasn't a liberal telling this story...it was Santorum, and when questioned by the media concerning this story, he failed to provide an answer. If not a Hitler reference, what was the story about then? Why talk about Hitler so much? I didn't know Hitler was running in the election. Whats the point?
I guess, like how many licks it take to get to the center of a pop, the world will never know.
"The headlines on First Read are 99.9% slanted and incendiary against Republicans."
If the GOP's wannabe candidates would just keep their mouths shut and not say stupid, hateful things, the headlines wouldn't hurt your feelings so badly, Bobby. Unfortunately, they say whatever pops into their vacuous heads and their bizarre and benighted ravings immediately become news headlines. Why, then, would you blame anyone else for their ignorant remarks? Is it because Republicans typically do not display any personal responsibility or integrity?
This is the first time in history for the GOP's running for president, working on getting President Obama re-elected. Each time they talk, President Obama's polls go up. Why should I make my comments, these clowns are doing my job.
President Obama--2012
He would be a great Ambassador to Vatican City for the next President, whoever wins in 2012.
It's not the media's fault this man is an idiot. The taxpayers of Pennsylvania remember that Slick Rick took a lot of money to cyber school his children who lived in Virginia. He's still claiming to be a PA resident but he really doesn't live here. He claims he is a resident of 2 states. How does that work? He keeps a very small house near Pittsburgh to vote from and lives in a million dollar house in VA, which by the way, he didn't pay for. He's no better than an politician. I almost think there's a special place in hell for these supposed Christians that lie and cheat just like everyone else while claiming they are better because they are Christians.
Santorum is a wall-to-wall, coast to coast, deep to the bone, fully ugly, no holds barred, anybody's estimate mean spirited, delusional paranoid jerk. His access to the media makes me puke. Sometimes I re-think fighting for our American freedom of speech when someone in a position of responsibility utters such illogical and offensive nonsense. Go home and shut-up you reactionary, repressive, regressive nut case.
Cool post.
Right Bob,
The libbie media is complicit in trying to find ANYTHING to discredit the Republican heros who will march on to ultimate victory in November.
If Rick Santorum tied his shoes backwards, this liberal newssite would attempt to make something out of it.
The problem with all their efforts is that it is too transparent. They overplay their hands and their motives become clear.
Joe-Joe-Joe-------Thanks for the Fox News Report.
President Obama 2012
The liberal media doesn't have to "find" anything to discredit republiacns. Their own candidates discredit themselves just by opening their mouths. They are turning both moderates and independents away from them daily and just lost most women.
@mike430 Moreover Mike they seem to take pains in discrediting each other too!
Santorum's had what, about a month in the limelight now? If there is indeed any deity (please!) who's trying to protect us, Rickety Dick should be approaching his Herman Cain expiration date any time now.
And his Bachman expiration, and his Perry expiration, and his Newt expiration. Did I leave any flavor of the month out? About 45 days. It's like watching 4 year old play soccer. What we used to call "herd ball". LOL
Ricky loves to feed his base with as much rhetoric as possible. Keep harping on the BC issue, hey Ricky it's settled, the Insurance Co's will take care of it. But this made up attack on Religion, is not a winner! Just show's people what a zealot he is. And then blame the press. Do you still stand by your statement, the media gave the President a pass on Rev Wright? Because it's easy to look up, we were saturated with that story for weeks. Faux noise had snippet's of the Rev's video, on a constant loop. LOL Keep ranting Saintorum, but get yourself to confession right away.
I am so sick of the GOP/TPalways blaming the media when they get called out on the bigoted BS they spout. Its like they think they can say anything and then justify it by saying it was taken out of context by the media. Sorry, but we know what you said, we can spot a self rightus, ignorant, closed minded bigot when we see/hear one. The GOP/TP need to be taken to task for the poison they put out there... If you trust any of the GOP/TP hopefuls you are totally blind and deaf...They have no ideas, aren't even trying to help, want the economy in the tank so they might be able to get elected...Kick the GOP/TP to the curb... OBAMA 2012
I fully agree. People lose their jobs every day for spouting crap like this, but the GOP side-steps by blaming liberal media or acting like its alright if they simply misspoke. People even get fired for an honest misspoken word and still feel obligated to apologize....
Joe -
A man with both feet in his mouth needs no shoes. And, I bet he does tie his shoes backwards, whatever that means.
I think the GOP Elephant has been shot in the foot, clubbed to death, & buried by it's own Republican nutcakes - maybe they should all call it a day & go back to their multi-million $$$ lobbying gigs (this ain't gettin them in the White House anytime soon). No one is going to vote in another Republican nut to the White House & risk their PENSION fund or Social Security benefits.
Santorum is an idiot. Blame him since he thinks he's God and can dictate everyone's life.
Isn't that what Obama is doing? No wait dictator.....keep forgetting
americangirl, if your post is serious and you think President Obama is in any way a dictator, you need to tune out Fox, read a real newspaper, or maybe even a book or two. Find out what "dictator" means, then see if you can actually point out where Obama is in any way a dictator. My gut response to your post is that you are simply a racist and you are among the really pissed off and embarrassing segment of our population that is mad because Obama is African American, got elected president, is a better orator than any living Republican, and has done a lot of good for the middle class, working class, and the disenfranchised in this country given the roadblocks constantly thrown in the way by Tea-bagger Republicans.
There is no hesitation to disrespect this President, but if any one so much as made a noise that might be construed as disrespectful about President Bush, then the foaming at the mouth righties popped up from behind their rocks and let it be known that they could use their 2nd Amendment rights to show us libbies what-for. Hypocritical and un-American attitudes have never been stronger.
americangirl "The Studebaker Dictator was an automobile produced by the Studebaker Corporation of from 1927-1937. Model year 1928 was the first full year of Dictator production.
The above state bears more relevence to the President than that inane remark you posted here!
Amazes me that Santorum, and all the rest of you religious nuts, bother to defend such a corrupt and opressive institution. Tax the churches same as palm readers
palm readers are more believable
I bet palm readers pay taxes, too.
the·ol·o·gy/THēˈäləjē/
Noun:
You use the OED as well?
That's exactly what mine said when i just looked it up. :-)
Santorum: Stop covering what I say and what my supporters say, media. It isn't fair. We're a bunch of theocratic morons. How am I supposed to win an election with you reporting all the dumb things we actually say and believe?
Just another little teabagger that cannot take responsibility for his own actions. It is ALWAYS someone else's fault. What a whiner.
Someone should at least explain to him why theology and theocracy have the same root.
I just hope Obama doesn't screw up between now and election day!
Mookum, I agree, but really what could he POSSIBLY do that is more bizarre than Rick Santorum's mouth? Or Mitt Romney's attempts to be "one of the guys"? I miss having a serious Republican party with intelligent debate. It would be fun to watch Obama take on Santorum at a debate. Santorum wouldn't know when he was beaten.
The media??? Cmon ricky, your words are your words. Unless you were misquoted (which was not the case) we heard exactly what your "audience" heard. You wuss. People may not agree with you but at least have the kahoonas to stand for what you believe in. Presidential material? Well, to be honest you might be.
If Santorum (leader of the American Taliban) gets the nomination that will hand the election to Obama, no question. Women want to live like 100 years ago? Probably not.
Rick Santorum - the right man to lead our country into the 19th century.